Tag: light

Writing into Life

In yesterday’s post I reflected on my self-management rule no. 2: Establish a good relationship with a stationary (or stationery) supplier. https://gladabout.life/2025/08/29/day-4-growing/

Today I’m considering rule no. 3: Establish (and maintain) good relationships with other suppliers (providing the bases are reciprocal).

Not all friendship relationships are reciprocal.  I like to think that I can and do reach out a hand of friendship and support to people without any expectation of return. I do, however, have friends where the relationship is one of mutual support.  These relationships help to sustain me through difficult times and I do what I can to sustain my friends through any difficult times that they might be having.

Coming, as I am, through a period of emotional and psychological burnout, I don’t have a lot of giving energy available at the moment.

I am, however, gaining spiritual nourishment and sustenance from an increasing commitment to the Buddhist faith.

‘The Liberating Prayer’, composed by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, includes the following two verses:

With folded hands I turn to you
Supreme unchanging friend,
I request from the depths of my heart

Please give me the light of your wisdom
To dispel the darkness of my mind
And to heal my mental continuum.

Basically, that’s what I’ve been working on for a long time without knowing it but – more recently, since I started reciting this prayer – with growing awareness of what I am doing and why I need to: to dispel the darkness of my mind and to heal my mental continuum.

To know that I can do this, using methods through meditation and putting the Buddhist teachings into practice in other ways, has been like a hand of friendship is helping me to pull myself out of a deep well.  I still have to do the work myself – and it’s taking a massive effort – but I’m not stuck and I’m not on my own.  That’s friendship.

I also feel an increasing sense of friendship with members of the Buddhist teaching group that I go to. It’s good to have friendship groups as well as ‘besties’ in our lives.

Having just given Lydia a good ‘rub-a-dub-dub’ tummy rub and chest massage, and knowing that she looks out for me and Trev too, in her way, it’s good to know that we have our own friendship group here at home.